How to submit an article to Subud Vision

Editorial Guidelines

What we publish

Our central interest is: "A critical examination of the state of Subud, addressing any relevant issues such as kejiwaan, the organization, prevalent attitudes and assumptions, our relationship with the world, and so on. What is wrong and why? What is right and why? And what should our strategies be for change?”

Such an article could be any one of the following:

• Historical analysis -- this can be very enlightening, without proposing anything.
• A critique of Subud's current state -- a critical article is not a bad thing. We need to be precisely clear on what is wrong in order to put something right.
• Proposals for the future of Subud.
• A mixture of all the above.
• Articles of an imaginative nature, a personal vision, a satire, fiction, or an impressionistic article, to provide a contrast to the more analytical articles. These will be considered on their individual merit, but they must still broadly meet our stated guidelines.

Click on each feature link, one after the other, to pop up a detailed explanation.

UNORTHODOX	OPEN MINDED INVESTIGATION	EVIDENCE
CITATIONS	BROAD AUDIENCE APPEAL	FOCUSED

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What we don't publish

It is not the job of the editors to approve of what you are saying in your article. However, if the editors find flaws in an article, it is almost certain that the readers will find the same flaws. In these circumstances what the editors will criticise is not the conclusions of the article, which the editors may even agree with, but the steps taken to reach those conclusions - if these are obviously flawed, readers will quickly lose interest, and the opportunity to persuade them of your point of view will be lost.

Undesirable Features

Click on each feature link, one after the other, to pop up a detailed explanation.

SELF CONTRADICTION	KNOCKING DOWN STRAW MEN	LOGICAL FALLACIES	DISRESPECTING OPPONENTS
FALSE CHOICES	SWEEPING GENERALISATIONS	POSTURING	UNSUITABLE CONTENT

"Safari" browser users: Close each pop-up before clicking on the next link, or you will not be able to see the next pop-up. This is a limitation of Safari over which we have no control. If you do lose the pop-up -- minimise the Safari window, the pop-up will be hiding underneath. Close it before opening the next one.

Positive Advice for Persuading Others of your Point of View

1. Present your position as clearly as possible.
2. If your article makes one or more proposals, you may choose to provide all the evidence and experience first, and then arrive at your proposals at the end, or you might start with what you believe we should be doing, but which we are not doing now, and then use the rest of the article to justify your proposals.
3. The fact that you believe in something doesn't make it correct, so don't try to argue from a personal point of view. If the position is accurate, there should be evidence or logic that can support it.
4. Portray the opposing side fairly and accurately. When you present those who disagree with you fairly, your audience will trust you more readily. Additionally, readers who disagree with you will keep reading if you show that you've taken the time to present their point of view accurately.
5. Support your position with evidence and/or logic. Every claim you make to further your position must be supported.
6. Acknowledge the limitations of your position. Almost every position has its flaws. Address these flaws and limitations overtly, or your readers will. However, at the same time, show why these limitations do not affect the reasonableness of your position.
7. Review your work for sweeping generalizations and other fallacies. Seeking out each common fallacy in your draft is a good practice, since most of us use fallacies at times in our arguments.

Index of author advice pages

1. Introduction for Authors
2. Editorial Guidelines
3. Editorial Process
4. Article Submission Form